Last
year , out of the blue,
Enrico Colantoni emailed
me. He'd seen my Enrico
Colantoni Fan Site and,
no doubt, his curiosity
got the better of him. A
few emails later, we had
arranged to meet here in
San Francisco for an interview.

I
confess, until I actually
saw him in the hotel lobby,
I thought there was a chance
I was being punked. But
there he was: a living,
breathing actor and all
around nice guy. We were
joined by my friend and
photographer Seth Williams.
He chimes in with an occasional
question and he took all
the great photos, which
will get much bigger if
you click on them. (We talked
for quite a while, so only
the Veronica Mars questions
are on this page. For the
Monk questions you can go
here.
To read the entire, mostly
unedited, version of the
interview, go here.)

Teresa:
As the co-star of the series,
do you get any control?
Do you get input into the
character?

Rico:
Not really. Rob
[Thomas] is pretty clear-minded.
He knows what he wants.
You know he’s already
broken half the series,
half the season for next
season. What he is open
to is problems that might
come

up.
Just a difficulty understanding
the plot line or a history
point or… but he won’t
tell you who the killer
is. He won’t tell
you how much you know. He
just sort of… it’s
all on a need to know basis.

Teresa:
So when did you find out
who the killer was this
season?

Rico:
Oh, when I watched it.

Teresa:
You didn’t know until
then?

Rico:
I read that last episode,
got to the part where I
died in a plane crash and
I went I’m not going
to read anymore, but then
they said keep reading.

Teresa
[to Seth] I don’t
want to spoil it for you,
but he doesn’t die.

Seth:
Oh, right.

Teresa:
But I won’t tell you
who the killer is in case
I can get you to watch it.

Rico:
I was so surprised by it.
It was very cool. I can’t
talk about it if you’re
going to see it.

Seth:
Oh no, go ahead, guys. It
doesn’t mean…
Sometimes the information
doesn’t always reach
the end point when I start
watching it anyways.

Rico:
Right. You’re on auto-pilot,
too.

Teresa:
For some reason with Monk,
I get spoilers all the time
and find out what’s
going to happen before it
happens.

Rico:
Oh, you do? Oh, nice.

Teresa:
With Veronica Mars I try
to avoid it entirely, because
it really would kind of
spoil the show for me.

Seth:
It’s like Twin Peaks?

Rico:
Yeah, the whole season is
around a big mystery.

Seth:
Okay.

Rico:
But what they’re going
to do next year is have
two or three big mysteries
throughout the year. So
they’ll be like a
six or seven story plot
line, a four story a four
episode plot, instead of
this…. in the past
it’s been one big
mystery.

Teresa:
With the separate mysteries
for each episode, right?

Rico:
Yeah.

Teresa:
Why do you think they decided
to go that direction?

Rico:
Just to spice it up. Make
it a little more interesting.
I think it’s hard
to write 22 episodes having
to keep including bits of
information.

Teresa:
And not just the 22 episodes,
but he brought in the first
season mysteries again.

Rico:
All that stuff too.

Teresa:
That was brilliant.

Rico:
And that’s where you
sort of look at Rob and
say, “You know what
you know better than me.”
Because a lot of those things,
they happen in the moment.
You know, “Harry
Hamlin we need you back
for an episode.” Well,
Harry says he doesn’t
want to come back for anything
less than four episodes.
“Okay, well then we’re
going to have to deal with
that. We’re going
to have to find another
story line, it wasn’t
what we were intending,
but what a great idea.”
You know so you’re
working, you’re open
to everybody and everybody’s
collaborative input. That’s
what makes him great.

Teresa:
[Harry Hamlin’s] character’s
resolution was great for
the audience, too.

Rico:
Wasn’t it so satisfying?

Teresa:
Yes.

Rico:
He was so smarmy. What a
brilliant man though. I
just love listening to him
talk: a smart, smart man.
Yeah, but when he died I
didn’t lose any sleep.
You can even tell in Keith’s
reaction when he asked Veronica
so how’s Logan taking
the, you know, whatever
and he’s sort of like,
thank god, another one bites
the dust.

Teresa:
I think Logan was as relieved
as everybody else.

Rico:
Yeah, but Logan, oh boy,
talk about the weight of
the world.

Teresa:
Do you want you’re
TV daughter dating him?

Rico:
You know what, he’s
loyal and true.

Teresa:
So how’s it feel to
be surrounded by all the
younger actors?

Rico:
It’s really weird.

Teresa:
Not use to that are you?

Rico:
No, not at all. Because
I have admiration for them,
you know, their talent.
So when they sort of look
up to you and say, “What
do you think of this?”
I go, “Uh, I don’t
know. I’m a kid too.
I

don’t
know.” And then I
have to rewind and go, oh
yeah, I’m papa. I’m
a young papa, but I’m
still papa compared to them.
I’m like what George
Segal was to me.

Teresa:
See, that’s what I
had down here. Do you feel
like George Segal now?

Rico: In a lot of ways,
but George has got the greatest
stories in the world. George’s
stories include, you know,
everybody. So I’m
like “George what
was it like hanging out
with you know Larry
Olivier?” [He
does a George Segal impression,
something not too many people
have in their repertoire.]
“It was all right.
It was quiet.” Wow!
Good old George.

Rico:
Yes. And we’re born
under the same astrological
sign, so I hope and pray
that I am as youthful and
as happy as he is at his
age.

Teresa:
Do you think that at that
age you’ll still be
doing television? Do you
think there will be television?

Rico:
Yeah, no absolutely. It
will be on little things
like that, but TV’s
great. TV is fun and it
satisfies my blue collar
work ethic. I get to go
to work everyday. You know,
movies would be great, but
then there would be way
to much time off in between.

Teresa:
And you’d get nervous.

Rico:
I’d get nervous. Even
if the money’s in
the bank it’s just….
I don’t know how anybody
can just do one picture.
Yeah, you make like 90 million
dollars in that one picture,
you don’t need to
work, but my mind would
rot. I need to go and dig
my ditches. I need to go
bang a nail every day. I
need that and TV gives it
to you. And I’ve been
really fortunate because
it’s been one show
after another show after
another show. Even Hope
and Gloria it was like
35 episodes it was like
a year and a half of steady
work. And now we’re
going for three years on
this thing.

Teresa:
Are you surprised?

Rico:
No. No, because we were
we are truly the right show
at the right time for the
UPN and the
CW. If we were on CBS
or NBC we wouldn’t
have lasted a season. We
just wouldn’t have.

Teresa:
You think you’re sort
of a prestige project for
them.

Rico:
Yeaahhh. Oh yeah. That’s
why that’s why we
have that clout, the press
and the loyal, loyal fan
base, even if it’s
a tight 4 Million.

[Try
a loose 3 million.]

Teresa:
But they’re there.

Rico:
They are they’re so
there.

Teresa:
And organized.

Rico:
And organized and that
whole banner thing.
That’s enough to make
Dawn Ostroff go, I love
this show as much as you
guys do, she’s thinking,
so yeah that’s all
I need. You know, ten million
people aren’t watching
us, but you’ve got
to weigh into account that
it’s not on a big
time network. Now the CW
is going to cover like 97%
of the market that UPN didn’t
so….

Teresa:
How much do you think UPN
was, maybe 70?

Rico:
Maybe 70% yeah.

Teresa:
So that doesn’t give
you a chance really to climb
up in the ratings?

Rico:
No, no, it doesn’t.
Even in San Diego you couldn’t
get UPN unless you had a
certain cable subscription.
So, that’s why I never
watched it, because I couldn’t
get it in my hotel room
where I was staying. It’s
like, “Look they don’t
have UPN. What’s that
about?”

Seth:
They did that with the SCI
FI Channel for a long time
we couldn’t get that
when they first started
out.

Rico:
Yeah, couldn’t get
it.

Teresa:
Yes, but UPN’s supposed
to be a network.

Seth:
Yeah exactly.

Teresa:
Well, not anymore. So are
they going to continue to
film down in San Diego?

Rico:
Oh, yeah. That’s the
only chink in the armor,
I think. If they could film
in L.A. it would just be
so wonderful. Everybody
would be so happy.

Teresa:
Well, now would be the perfect
time to move up, because
Veronica’s going to
college now. You could change
all the sets.

Rico:
I understand, but it’s
just, it’s still not
a runaway hit.

Teresa:
And it’s cheaper to
do it in San Diego?

Rico:
So much cheaper. They save
I don’t know how many
hundreds of thousands of
dollars every episode just
by filming it in San Diego.
Like half a million dollars
an episode they save.

Teresa:
Wow. What do you think the
CW will expect from Veronica
Mars next year?

Rico:
You know what? I think they’ll
expect everything they’ve
been expecting. Hold on
to Gilmore Girls, because
that’s really their
flagship show, and if we
do as well as them maybe
even build on them, you
know, especially in that
key demo which they love
so much that 18 to 34.

Teresa:
They do get that demo though?

Rico:
They sure do. Yeah.

Teresa:
You mentioned before that
you were directing a play.
Is directing something you
enjoy doing.

Rico:
It is now, but not on television.

Teresa:
Different?

Rico:
Those guys are whips. They’re
right brain oriented. You
know what I mean? They’re
just like [machine gun sound]
efficient and organized
and I’m like “What
do you think of this?”
and “How about that?”
“Yeah, that’s
good. We could do that.”
And all the sudden there’d
be a producer over my shoulder
[tapping his watch] “You’re
four set ups behind.”
You know, it’s like
I would just… I would
lose it. But theater or
a film when there’s
time to nurture and watch
things organically evolve,
it’s great. It’s
great.

Teresa:
So is this the first play
you’ve directed?

Rico:
Yeah, my first play outside
of an acting class.

Teresa:
What’s it called?

Rico:
Well, the theater company
is the Echo
Theater Company and
every year they do a series
of one acts and we commission
playwrights that we’re
quite fond of to write new
one act plays. This year
the theme was an outdoor
park or a back yard. So
we got eight playwrights
who wrote variations on
that theme. Mine was a seven
minute piece called Hartshorne,
which is about two extremely
conservative teenagers who
are looking to break out
of their restrictions and
they become Satanists. So
they decapitate their dog.
And it starts right at the
end of the decapitation
where they’re going:
“What did we just
do?” “What happened?”
“This is for Satan.”
“Oh right, okay.”
Because, you know, it’s
very funny and very dark
and it’s exactly what
I like.

Teresa:
Funny and dark?

Rico:
Dark and funny. Dark and
funny. Dark and funny.

Teresa:
Veronica Mars has a little
of that too.

Rico:
It really does, right? Especially
that pilot, I really liked
that pilot. In the original
pilot it was so much darker
and seedier. I mean the
opening shot in the original
pilot, before we changed
it, was her taking pictures
of a john in a motel room.
And then the episode they
showed she was like in school
in a classroom, but that
opening shot in the beginning
it was like, ooh my God,
Then where they live is
just so clearly on the other
side of the tracks, where
the pool was just dirty
and it was just like a small
apartment and that’s
where they lived. Les Moonves
says, “We can’t
have that. We’ve gotta
feel like she’s taken
care of. Like her father
can take care of her.”
Suddenly we went up the
social ladder a little bit.

Teresa:
There are still lines in
the earlier scripts that
give the impression that
they’re living in
a little more poverty than
it appears they are.

Rico:
Yeah, yeah. Because the
exteriors of that apartment
building is in Pacific Beach
and it’s beautiful
and very expensive. It’s
right on the water.

Teresa:
There aren’t a lot
of really cheap apartments
in that area.

Rico:
No, there aren’t.

Teresa:
Do you think having been
the TV father of a TV teenager
that you’re going
to be better at being a
father to your own daughter
when she gets to be that
age?

Rico:
Yes, because I feel that
who I am I sort of lend
to Keith. I don’t
think he was necessarily
written that way, but I
love Kristin and I respect
her and I love my kids and
I want to respect them.
So it does give me an opportunity
to sort of see how it feels.
You look at a daughter and
know that she’s like
doing things you don’t
really want to know and
you give her enough rope
to hang herself and you
know that you’re going
to be there when she needs
you. That’s the only
thing I can hope for as
a dad that when they are
in trouble that they’ll
come to me. Not to stop
them from getting into trouble,
I just don’t want
them to hide it. I want
them to be able to come
to me when they fuck up.

Seth:
Not to fear to come to you?

Rico:
Not to fear to come to me,
right. That would be the
greatest achievement I could
hope for as a dad.

Teresa:
I think some of the best
scenes in Veronica Mars
are the ones when he has
those discussions with her.

Rico:
Right, I love those scenes.
When I get to work with
her it’s usually in
a chunk. It’s like
a whole day, because we
do all the interiors at
the Mars apartment and the
Mars investigation stuff
all in one day. It’s
great, it’s great.
It’s like home. And
then there are those odd
days when we’re on
location and I’m working
with somebody that I’ve
never
met and it’s like
uhhhhh.

Teresa:
It’s not as easy cold
like that?

Rico:
Not as easy and it’s
cold and you gotta like
you know jump out of window
and stuff.

Teresa:
They made you do that yourself?
Didn’t they have a
stunt guy for that?

I
actually saw the one episode
where he was about to beat
the shit out of Veronica.
Remember that one?

Teresa:
Yes.

Rico:
And I thought, who is that
guy? He’s so intense
and so mean. Oh fuck. And
then when I realized I had
to fight him I go, “Are
you kidding me? Are you
kidding me?” And I’m
in the dressing room and
I see him and I go, “Uh
oh.” And he looks
at me and he goes, “Do
you remember me?”
I go, “I don’t
know.” “I’m
Robbie from New York”
“Robbie? That skinny
little fuck back in New
York.” He goes, “Yeah,
I bulked up a little bit.”

It
turns out I’ve known
him way back in New York.
We used to hang out all
the time in New York and
what a joy it is to have
that connection with somebody
that you’re supposed
to hate. I’m not one
of those actors who needs
to hate somebody, you know,
to hate them. I need to
really feel safe with them.
I really need to trust them
and then we can we can get
up and say, “Hey thanks,
bro. Thanks for holding
me up. Thanks for making
eye contact with me. Thanks
for keeping it safe.”
Thank God, cause that’s
intense when you’ve
got to fight somebody.

Teresa:
I’m sure it made it
easier for him to do that,
too.

Rico:
Yeah, but he could do that
anyway. He’s that
kind of actor. He’s
all [panting]: “Arrr
I hate you.” And I’m
laughing. “Action!
Cut!”

Excerpt
from The
Salt Lake City Weekly
Veronica MarsTuesday,
Oct. 3 2006 (The CW)Season Premiere: After
surviving two seasons on UPN being
watched more by critics than actual
people (once again, critics are
not people, they’re scum—and
I oughta know), the 26-year-old
“teen” detective lands
at The CW with a Get Ratings or
Die! edict. That said, the Season
3 premiere effectively pulls off
the trick of offering as much
for newbies to latch onto (sparkling,
fluid dialogue and viral pop-cultural
zings for Gilmore Girls holdovers—introducing
prime-time’s first Battlestar
Galactica references, frak you
very much) as for the VM faithful
reconnect with (Kristen Bell’s
brainy-beauty charm and a gnarly
noir subplot for dad, Enrico Colantoni).
It’d be a shame if the new
CW had to cancel one of the smartest
shows on TV in favor of One Tree
Hill reruns, just sayin.’

Excerpt
from IGN.comEnrico Colantoni on the Future
of Veronica Mars
Exclusive Interview: IGN chats
with the Mars dad about moving
to The CW and that mysterious
briefcase.
by Eric Goldman
May 26, 2006

IGN TV: Do you know what's in
the briefcase yet? Did you know
when you were shooting it?

Colantoni: Ahh, well when we shot
it, it was just a briefcase full
of cookies.

IGN TV: Wow, and that's why Keith
didn't go to see his daughter
at the airport?

Colantoni: Yeah, that's exactly
it. 'Cause he's like stuffed.
"Uhhhh, Veronica… they
were snickerdoodles! I couldn't
go!" "Dad?" [Colantoni
hums the first bars of the Veronica
theme song] But no, I don't know
what's in the briefcase. He hasn't
told us. It could be this or it
could be that.

"With
its terrific ensemble cast, sharp
writing and high production values,
we're tremendously proud of the
level of quality that 'Veronica
Mars' brings to UPN," says
UPN Entertainment President Dawn
Ostroff. "Headlined by the
brilliant Kristen Bell, this intriguing,
youthful series continues to garner
tremendous buzz and critical acclaim,
and this is the type of smart,
compelling show we want viewers
to expect from UPN."

Excerpt
from TV
Guide.comMum's the Word for Veronica
Mars' Dadby Matt Webb Mitovich"If Keith
were sheriff again, he wouldn't
have any conflicts, and everything
would be easy. [He and Veronica]
would be back on the right side
of the track, and order would
be restored in Neptune. You've
got to have a guy like Lamb to
be the a--hole — and he
is such an a--hole."
Jan 17, 2006

COLANTONI:
They sort of teased me in the
beginning of the first season,
where he was walking this fine
line of, is Keith really a corrupt
guy or is he a good guy? And they
ended up cutting it out, because
the network really wanted him
to go one way. They wanted him
to be the stand up guy. Since
then, I've always hoped that they
made him more three dimensional,
that they made him just a little
more on the other side of the
law. That he's willing to sort
of bend the law a little bit.
It seems more humanistic that
way. Especially since he's so
out of the rules. He really doesn't
have to live up to any standards
as a policeman, you know what
I mean? And I would like to just
see him bend it a little bit more,
whatever storyline that takes.
Maybe a little undercover thing.
Maybe just a little bit that shows
that he can be corrupted. That
he's not without fault.

Excerpt
fromthe
Los Angeles Daily News
These 5 actors shine in supporting
rolesYou may not know their
names, but whenever they're in
a scene, the TV show suddenly
starts to sizzle
DAVID KRONKE

You
know them when you see them: They're
supporting characters on your
favorite TV shows whose scenes
seem to pop just a little more
than the others, whose presence
elevates a good show to great.
In other words, they're folks
you wouldn't mind seeing more
of. Here are five of one TV writer's
favorite supporting players.

Colantoni credits his and Bell's
chemistry: "It was immediate.
... My only concern was, she's
so cute and blond and blue-eyed
... how will anyone buy me as
her father?" he says. "She's
adorable, she's funny, and she
does no wrong. Thank goodness
-- if she was bratty on any level,
I would hate to come to work."

The father and daughter are "underdogs
who have fallen from grace,"
he notes. "They constantly
get knocked down, but they always
get back up."

Full
Article (Just in case you
want to know who else made the
list.)
Posted on Sun, Nov. 20, 2005

You heard the rave reviews
about UPN's Veronica Mars (9 p.m.
Wednesday) last season, but you
also knew it had a continuing
story line and figured by the
time you heard the buzz it was
too late to tune in and get caught
up.

You
were probably right, but the show
wrapped up its first-season mystery
in May and an all-new one kicks
off this week. Now is the time
to journey to Mars.

Though this year's mystery is
new, character arcs from last
year continue, including the revelation
of which of our teen detective's
unseen beaus was at her door at
the end of the May season finale.
Was Veronica (Kristen Bell) greeting
psychologically damaged Logan
(Jason Dohring) or her ex-boyfriend,
Duncan (Teddy Dunn)?

The season premiere takes a few
twists before settling on which
guy she's squiring around Neptune,
Calif., now. What's established
early is that Veronica is now
viewed as one of the rich kids
rather than the outcast she was
last year. Her father, Keith (Enrico
Colantoni), has written a book
he's now promoting on The Julie
Chen Show (when you're a low-rated,
critically adored series like
Veronica, it doesn't hurt to stroke
UPN overseer Leslie Moonves, Chen's
husband).

New characters arrive, including
a mayoral candidate (Steve Guttenberg)
and the hot-to-trot stepmom (Charisma
Carpenter, Angel) of two of Veronica's
fellow students.

By the end of the hour, which
is a little too slow-paced, there's
a tragedy that will set up the
new mystery. No doubt, Veronica
will be on the case.

UPN
is really, really trying to pump
up the promotion volume for "Veronica
Mars," its critically-acclaimed
drama that has had trouble finding
an audience.

The
show, which is scheduled to return
with new episodes on Sept. 21 behind
a new installment of "America's
Next Top Model," will air four
episodes on UPN's big brother, CBS,
starting Friday, July 29 at 8 p.m.
Back-to-back episodes will be shown
the 29th, followed by single installments
on Aug. 5 and 12.

The
idea is to expose the series, which
follows the life of an 18-year-old
high school student (the marvelous
Kristen Bell) who dabbles in solving
mysteries, to a wider audience for
the start of its new season on UPN.
The episodes haven't been picked
yet, but UPN boss Dawn Ostroff says
they won't be ones that deal too
deeply with the season-long murder
mystery that dominated season one.

And
speaking of "Veronica Mars,"
Ostroff says the network is NOT
asking for any tonal changes in
the series. Creator Rob Thomas has
been quoted as saying he was having
a "mini-war" with UPN
over changes the suits wanted in
the show, setting off great concerns
within "Veronica's" cult
following.

NEW YORK -- Former "Angel"
and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
star Charisma Carpenter has been
added to the cast of UPN's "Veronica
Mars."

"Veronica Mars" stars
Kristen Bell as a smart, fearless
18-year-old apprentice private investigator
who is dedicated to solving the
toughest mysteries of her wealthy
seaside community of Neptune, Calif.

Carpenter will play Kendall Casablancas,
a sexy trophy wife and stepmother
to brothers Dick and Cassidy "Beaver"
Casablancas, two of Veronica's rival,
affluent schoolmates, UPN announced
Thursday.

The 34-year-old actress, who played
the character Cordelia Chase on
"Angel" and "Buffy,"
will appear in at least six episodes.

Steve Guttenberg is also joining
the cast and will appear in at least
seven episodes, the cable channel
said. He will play a charismatic
major league baseball team owner
and leading candidate in the race
for mayor of Neptune.

Guttenberg, 46, stars in the upcoming
TV movie "The Poseidon Adventure."
His screen credits include the "Police
Academy" films and "Three
Men and a Baby."

The
Keith Mars Story

Keith
Mars is the father of TV's
newest and brightest young
detective, Veronica Mars.
Once sheriff of the little
seaside town of Neptune CA,
Keith now eeks out a living
as a private detective with
the able assistance of his
teenage daughter.

Season
one of Veronica Mars
began with both father and
daughter conducting their
own separate investigations
into the death of Lilly Kane,
Veronica's best friend. In
Keith's original investigation
he suspected Jake Kane, the
victim's rich and powerful
father, was involoved in her
death. His suspicions led
to his recall election, the
loss of his job, and social
ostracization for him and
Veronica. The two also must
deal with their adandonment
by wife and mother Lianne.

Between
tracking down bail jumpers,
investigating unfaithful spouses
and keeping his hand in the
Kane murder case, Keith does
his best to protect, encourage
and love Veronica.

His
paternity, however, does come
into question. His missing
spouse Lianne was also involved
with Jake Kane around the
time of Veronica's conception
and she is a little fuzzy
on who the father might be.

No
worries, though, a paternity
test (and one of the best-acted
scenes in the history of television)
reveals Keith is indeed Veronica's
biological father.

He
and Veronica become even closer
as the season draws to a close
and they join forces to find
Lilly's real killer.

“Tonight we eat like
the lower-middle class to
which we aspire.” —"Pilot"

Veronica:
Hi, Dad. Their case is fuzzy
and circumstantial. Keith:
You know the odd 1thing? Those
were also her first words.
—"Clash
of the Tritons"

“Veronica
I am without a doubt your
father."
—"Leave
it to Beaver"

"The
hours are long, but I get
to carry a gun...."
—Enrico
Colantoni 2004

“It's
like listening to the Brady
Bunch with a reggae soundtrack.”"Drinking
the Kool-Aid"

"Well,
to be fair, I am your patron."
— "Mars
Vs. Mars"

Keith:
Have you been playing nice
with the other children?
Veronica:
You know Dad, I'm old school,
an eye for an eye. Keith:
I think that's actually
Old Testament—"Meet
John Smith"

Keith
Mars is played by versatile
character actor Enrico
Colantoni, best known
for seven seasons on the NBC
comedy Just Shoot Me.
Enrico
has discussed Veronica Mars
in recent (2004-2005) interviews.
Here are some of his comments
—

"We're
doing a TV show right now
called Veronica Mars
and Warner Bros. is producing
it for UPN. It's a teenage
detective story and it's really
great. It's dark...."efimcritic.comoriginally
published on 08/29/04

"We're
in San Diego right now. It's
hard to find out anything
bad about it right now. It's
still so new, and it's exciting.
I get to play a private investigator
and dad to a teenaged girl.
The writing is so good. The
critics are saying it's their
favorite show of the year.
But all of that stuff could
easily turn into the kiss
of death."

"We
just started... We are still
trying to feel each other
out. We are still cautiously
optimistic about what it can
be and where we can go with
it. It is hard to say, it
is a drama, it is a lot of
fun, it is a single camera,
it is a different medium from
a sitcom.

"It
started on September 22 [2004].
It is a teenage detective
story and Veronica is a 16-year-old
girl who lives with her dad
— I am her dad. I own
a private investigation office
and there has been a murder
that sends the whole town
into chaos. There are mysteries
every week, and there is a
Twin Peaks element to it because
there is this murder that
haunts every episode.

"As
cheesy as it might sound,
it is actually a well-written
show and the characters are
well-defined. It is not a
piece of cheese at all. It
is very good and will not
only attract a young audience,
but also an old audience.
UPN is certainly stepping
up to the plate by taking
on new dramas like this and
they are in the middle of
a facelift that I think will
pay off.From Askmen.com
May 15th 2005

ARTICLES

From
The Boston HearldFans are up for 'Mars':
UPN show can thank
viewer campaign for renewalBy Sarah
RodmanFriday,
May 6, 2005-

In addition
to starring in one of the
best new shows of the season,
the cast of UPN's Veronica
Mars apparently is psychic.

Twenty-four hours before UPN
announced it was picking up
the terrific teen detective
series for a second season,
the six actors expressed supreme
confidence in that possibility,
even though their show is
among the lowest-rated of
this year's new offerings.

In Boston last month to drum
up support for their critically
beloved but audience-starved
show, the giddy, affable gang
agreed that with its weekly
audience gains, the quality
of the writing and the devoted
fan base, Veronica Mars
was a shoo-in for pick up.

Fresh
off shooting the season finale
(Tuesday at 9 p.m. on WSBK,
Ch. 38) and punchy from a
tireless promotional schedule
that had them making stops
at malls and radio stations
across the country - often
beginning at 6 a.m. - the
actors were bullish.

"I'm banking on a network
that's committed to going
from sixth to fifth, and if
they're really committed to
that then they need this show,"
said Enrico Colantoni (Just
Shoot Me), who plays
Keith Mars, the gumshoe dad
of the title character played
by Kristen Bell.

Fans of the show, which normally
draws between 2 million and
3 million viewers, weren't
so sure, however. They mounted
an elaborate "Save Veronica
Mars" campaign before
it even was announced that
the show was technically in
danger.

Bell was not at all surprised
and was very grateful that
the viewers got involved so
early, noting that these days
fans are savvy enough to know
that "if you're not making
money for your network, you're
on the bubble."

The producers and the people
at the network and the studio,
they all read that [internet
chatter] religiously and know
that there is a lot of fan
support out there," says
Teddy Dunn, who plays Duncan
Cane, Veronica's former boyfriend
and, in a shocking soapy twist,
possible brother. "The
following that we have is
extremely loyal; hopefully
it's growing."

It's
easy to understand that loyalty.
The smart, funny and poignant
series traffics successfully
in universal "high school
is hell" truths and weekly
detective riddles that appeal
to viewers of all ages. It
delicately balances a procedural
structure with the central
ongoing story line of a former
popular girl (Bell) ostracized
by the in-crowd after her
then-sheriff father accuses
the town's wealthiest resident
of murdering his own daughter
- Veronica's best friend and
Duncan's sister, Lilly Kane
(Amanda Seyfried).

Though
the renewal is good news,
fans most likely are concerned
with the immediate future,
and Bell says they won't be
disappointed. "The
last episode is like a mini
action movie, and I have the
bruises and cuts all over
my body to prove it."

The 24-year-old actress promises
resolution for all the season
one mysteries, including the
truth about Veronica's paternity
and the unmasking of Lilly's
killer. "Every question
that's already been posed
will be answered, and there
will be a new question at
the end," says Bell.
She teases that the cliffhanger
will be so big that "every
audience member who's ever
watched the show will need
to know the answer by the
beginning of season two."

Hopefully,
all those people and more
will be intrigued enough to
further explore life on "Mars."
— END ARTICLE

He
did it. No, he did it. No,
the dog did it. Everybody
and her pet bulldog comes
under suspicion in tonight's
whodunit-solving season finale
of UPN's sinfully underrated
sleuth saga "Veronica
Mars." A twistier capper
than this, you haven't seen
in eons. Everything that seems
clearly solved isn't, right
up to the last, lingering
moment of this action-packed
hour.

But there are plenty of payoffs,
including the season-long
hunt for who killed Lilly
Kane, the rich-kid best friend
of Kristen Bell's title high
school outcast and part-time
detective.

Keith
Mars:
This is important, you remember
this, I USED TO BE COOL. Veronica
Mars: When? Keith
Mars: '77. Trans-Am,
Blue Oyster Cult in the 8-track,
foxy, stacked blond riding
shotgun, racing for pink slips.
Wait a minute, I'm thinking
of a Springsteen song. Scratch
everything. I was never cool.
—"Pilot"

It's
no Nancy Drew world for Veronica.
Her sunny California beach
town is awash in wealth, show
biz, politics, gangs, substance
abuse, tense DNA tests and
teen fun-runs to Mexico. Veronica
herself has been reeling all
season from Lilly's messy
murder, her mother's disappearance
and her own apparent assault
at a wild party she barely
remembers. Last week gave
us the truth about the latter:
Veronica had been drugged
but actually had consensual
relations with Lilly's half-crazed
brother Duncan - who we'd
previously learned might also
be her half-brother, thanks
to the troubled Mars mom's
indiscretions.

A
lot to follow? Yeah, but worth
the effort. "Veronica
Mars" reverberates 10
ways from Tuesday. It's a
kick-butt mystery in which
Bell's Veronica is no perky
little snoop but a shrewd
investigative partner for
Enrico Colantoni as her affable
ex-sheriff dad on cases of
Internet blackmail and other
sordid threats. It's a gritty
family drama, with mom Corinne
Bohrer popping in and out
of their lives while battling
her own demons. It's a sweet
romance for Colantoni, who's
recently been hitting the
dance floor with Erica Gimpel
as the mom of his daughter's
best bud, and for Bell, whose
giddy fling with Jason Dohring's
bad-boy Logan recently flipped
to her suspecting him in Lilly's
killing.

It's
also a look at the underside
of wealth and fame through
Kyle Secor's controlling cyber-tycoon
Kane and Harry Hamlin as Logan's
detached movie-star dad. It's
even a teen soap with a keen-eyed
view of high school jockeying.

The
youth angle is never discounted,
despite Veronica's adult wranglings.
As the season-ender's circuitous
solution puts her through
a seemingly unending wringer
of perils - is it six times
or 12 that we fear for her
life tonight? - Bell reacts
not just like a sharp sleuth
but like a terrified kid.
For every clever tactic she
concocts, there's a genuine
freak-out. That underlying
reality is what makes "Veronica
Mars" so potent. A fight
here looks like a real fight,
all grappling and stumbling.
Even good news seems sublimely
poignant. And the fear Veronica
feels is palpable, inspiring
at-home holding your breath
as she thinks/screams/battles
her way to safety.

The
acting is first-rate, though
in a non-showy way unlikely
to earn awards. Like adolescence,
it's an internal process.
The filming, too, has an unaffectedness
idiosyncrasy, all those offbeat
angles suiting the cockeyed
way its heroine might view
her life. Veronica Mars knows
too much, yet not enough.
She's learning and growing.
So is her show (which UPN
has savvily renewed for next
season). It's grown on us,
that's for sure.— END
ARTICLE

From
the Houston Chronicle.comVeronica Mars has
an allure of deep, dark mysteryUPN's teen cult show finale
is tonight, and a second season
is in the offing
By NICKI BRITTON
5/10/05

Veronica
Mars is the pariah of Neptune
High.

Once
upon a time, she was in with
the in-crowd. But then her
best friend, Lilly Kane, was
murdered. Veronica's father,
Neptune's sheriff, was tossed
out of office when he accused
Lilly's billionaire dad of
the crime. Her mom, folding
under the pressure, deserted
her. Her boyfriend, Lilly's
brother Duncan, dumped her.

“This
is so endearing. My bad-ass
action figure daughter is
afraid to draw a teensy little
drop of blood.” Drinking
the Kool-Aid

In
a desperate attempt to hold
her head high among former
friends, Veronica crashed
an end-of-the-year rager,
where she was roofied and
date-raped.

If
that sounds like a lot of
drama, well, it all occurred
before the series Veronica
Mars even began. And for those
who have tuned in to one of
the year's best sleepers all
season, tonight promises a
big payoff.

Teen
TV has several strong shows
in regular rotation, but it
has been quietly dominated
by melodrama (7th Heaven),
preciousness (Gilmore Girls),
earnestness (Everwood) and
self-awareness (The O.C.).
Smart, sharp, dark and funny,
Veronica Mars is a multifaceted
standout.

With
Veronica, creator Rob Thomas
avoided the typical teen-drama
elements and invented his
own genre: teen noir. Like
pulp mystery writer Jim Thompson,
he relies on the tweaking
of expectations: Things are
not as they seem. Every character
has richness and depth. Every
story line a hidden meaning.
Every nuance a payoff.

Thomas
cites the Village Voice's
description of the show as
his favorite. "They called
it the first show to fuse
Heathers and Chinatown,"
he says proudly.

The
cast of characters is anchored
by its charming titular heroine.

Veronica
is portrayed with a rare combination
of toughness and vulnerability
by gifted newcomer Kristen
Bell. Her character is a tangle
of contradictions: cute but
hard, cocky but insecure,
angry but sad, scornful but
lonely.

Veronica
channels her emotions into
solving the mysteries of and
around her life, big and small.
She uses skills acquired from
working in her father's private-investigation
firm to earn cash off her
rich classmates, who hire
her to crack cases involving
fake IDs, scummy boyfriends
and computer scams.

Close
to the vest

Unlike her chattier television
counterparts who express every
feeling that pops into their
attractive heads (say The
O.C.'s Seth Cohen or Gilmore's
Rory Gilmore), Veronica holds
her cards close. Classic gumshoe
elements like voiceovers and
flashbacks clue in the viewers
to some of her inner thoughts
as she tries to uncover by
any means necessary who killed
her friend, why her mother
left and what led to her rape.

In
doing so, Veronica strikes
unlikely alliances with her
classmates: the new-kid outcast
Wallace (Percy Daggs III),
tattooed biker thug Weevil
(Francis Capra), bratty rich
kid Logan (the wildly charismatic
Jason Dohring). But she never
allows these relationships
to distract her from the business
at hand.

"She's
strong and intense but also
beautiful and witty and sarcastic,"
Bell says while killing time
with fellow cast members before
a fan meet-and-greet in Dallas
last weekend. "I wish
I'd had a role model like
Veronica."

Transforming
roles

Similarly,
Weevil and Logan avoid stereotypes.

A
child actor, Capra had untough
credits like Free Willy 2
and Kazaam on his résumé
before, as he puts it, "I
started doing gangster (expletive)
as soon as I started getting
facial hair."

Capra's
Weevil is rough and manipulative,
but a surprising sensitivity
surfaces, a duality that could
have roots in his real life.
"I had to get real hard,"
he says. "Being the kid
from Free Willy 2, but coming
home to the lights being turned
off and being evicted from
many homes. I know what it's
like when Weevil has to put
up that wall, when he feels
like he's getting too soft,
getting too close to somebody."

Dohring's
character also has been transformed,
after starting the season
as a predictably spoiled rich
kid. "There's an intensity
that I like," he says
of Logan. "If he wants
something, he gets it, by
whatever means it takes. I
like the charm he has when
he's cutting people apart."

His
relationship with Veronica
flowered into something unexpected
by season's end as he flitted
between unlikely ally and
someone she can't trust.

As
the series heads into tonight's
climactic season finale, it
brings with it a rabidly loyal
(if modestly sized) following.
When a show defies convenient
categorization, its success
relies on word of mouth. A
teen drama involving such
weighty issues will always
be a tough sell.

"The
network was worried about
having a teen show where the
protagonist has been raped,
her friend murdered, her dad
a pariah, her mom disappeared,"
Thomas admits. "How are
you going to be able to handle
it and have a degree of humor
and warmth?"

Charms
the cynics

The
allure of Veronica Mars is
difficult to convey to those
who have not converted. A
thumbnail summary for the
show is as tough a pitch as
a story line involving a high
school girl who slays vampires.

But
like Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
Veronica Mars has that special
alchemy attributable to cast,
chemistry and story. Even
cynics have been warmed by
Veronica's charms.

The
writers and forum members
of TelevisionWith-
outPity.com, a heavily trafficked
Web site full of snide television
commentary (slogan: "spare
the snark, spoil the networks"),
have rallied around Veronica
Mars since the pilot, a fact
that has not escaped Thomas'
attention. "It's like
having a free, huge focus
group each week," he
says.

In
spite of Veronica's middling
ratings, UPN announced last
month that the show will return
for a second season, news
Thomas broke on TWoP. Fans,
who had started a promotional
mail campaign to combat possible
cancellation, rejoiced. But
those involved in the show
exude a confidence in spite
of the numbers.

"I
wasn't shocked at all,"
Bell says. "There are
some things that you just
know. I knew it when I read
for the pilot."

Season
2?

Had
UPN dumped Veronica, it certainly
wouldn't have been the first
quality young-adult show to
face untimely death. (See
Freaks and Geeks, My So-Called
Life and Wonderfalls). But
the underdog network is banking
that a growing cult following
combined with summer reruns
and a first-season DVD set
aimed for a September release
will boost the numbers for
an anticipated Season 2.

And
it's not just kids who tune
in. Veteran actor Enrico Colantoni
(Keith Mars, Veronica's dad),
best known for his role as
Elliot in Just Shoot Me, says
he's gotten positive feedback
from some elderly fans. "I
was on a plane sitting next
to a 90-year-old lady,"
he recounts. "All of
a sudden she leans over and
says, 'I love Veronica Mars!
You're not going to tell me
who killed Lilly, are you?'"

That
mystery will be solved tonight.
But the biggest mystery is
whether UPN's commendable
patience and dedication to
this outstanding program will
set an example that quality
television should be judged
by more than just Nielsen
ratings.

The
real mystery is why more people
aren't already hooked on Veronica
Mars.

It's
only the freshest, most engagingly
offbeat new series of the
year. and spiced with the
sly, charming energy of Kristen
Bell as the coolest teen detective
since Nancy Drew, "Veronica
Mars" finally reaches
the tense moment of whodunit
revelation on the show's first
season finale at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Who
murdered Lilly Kane? That's
the answer loyal Veronica
Martians have been waiting
for all year and series creator
Rob Thomas, the sharp-witted
man with the wily sleuthing
plan, promises there will
be no cheap perpetrator thrills
in finally solving the murder
of Veronica's best friend.

Veronica:
I'll be at home with the only
sane Mars family member.Keith:
You mean the one that eats
from the garbage and keeps
bringing me dead birds.
— "Hot
Dogs"

"The
trick is to surprise people,"
says Thomas. "And yet
you can't just pull somebody
off the curb. People can't
feel like you've cheated them."

The
overall audience for "Veronica
Mars" may be teensy -
averaging just over 2.4 million
viewers each week compared
to the 23 million or so who
tune in "Desperate Housewives"
each week - but they're totally
hooked. And they pay very
close attention.

"The
same person I envisioned being
the killer at the beginning
is still the killer,"
says Thomas.

So
will it be Lilly's devious,
software billionaire father
Jake? Or maybe her perplexing
brother Duncan? Or her old
boyfriend Logan? Or some other
homicidal creep?

Whoever
it is, says Thomas, it will
all make logical whodunit
sense and when the "Veronica
Mars" DVD is released
later this year, the truly
obsessed can piece together
the mystery all over again
clue-by-carefully-revealed
clue, says Thomas. "I'm
really excited about the DVD,"
Thomas says, "because
it might help us build an
audience."

Oh, that. Lousy ratings. It's
the longtime curse of imaginative,
high-quality cult shows from
"My So-Called Life"
to "Freaks and Geeks."
Tiny audiences usually spell
quick cancellation doom, but
thanks to the smart, patient
support of UPN programming
boss Dawn Ostroff - and the
small network's desperate
need for a signature hit that
doesn't feature steroid-inflated
pro wrestlers, "Star
Trek" space cadets or
bad sitcoms with cacophonous
laugh tracks - "Veronica
Mars" has become a rare
exception to the rapid oblivion
rule. It's already been renewed
for a second season.

We
felt the audience watching
the show was very devoted,"
explains Ostroff. "It's
just a matter of getting more
people to watch. So we'll
be looking at different ways
to market the series. I think
'Veronica Mars' can be a big
hit."

In
addition to being a terrifically
stylish mystery series, a
clever teen noir with a spikily
irreverent wit, "Veronica
Mars" is perhaps the
most perceptive portrait of
contemporary adolescent attitudes
and peer group interaction
anywhere on network television.

"This
is a generation that's seen
it all," says Thomas.
"They're prematurely
jaded, media-savvy, sensory-overloaded
kids. And Veronica is the
poster child for that... The
thing that's heroic about
her is her reaction to all
this tragedy."

Her
best friend was murdered.
Her mother mysteriously took
off. And everybody at Neptune
High School, in a sunny California
beach town, pretty much loathes
her. No biggie. Veronica's
fearless, a proudly self-confident
outsider, nobody's teenyboppin'
fool.

On
top of that, she's a very
nifty chip off the sleuthing
block, following in her detective
father Keith's gumshoe footsteps,
lovingly bonded to him in
TV's best new father-daughter
pairing. It's an emotionally
layered relationship wonderfully
captured in the chemistry
shared by Bell and TV dad
Enrico Colantoni ("Just
Shoot Me").

But
without Bell's captivating
lead performance, which is
infused with a playful, sparkling
intelligence, "Veronica
Mars" just wouldn't be
the same. UPN's Ostroff calls
her "a breakout star."

Concurs
Thomas: "Kristen's phenomenal.
It's hard to imagine the show
working without her. I've
been very, very spoiled by
her."

Bell
feels the same way."Rob
and I are very similar. I
think we have the same sensibility
as far as the way we speak.
We both have a cynical, sharp
sense of humor," says
Bell, chatting during a recent
quick visit to Detroit to
promote the series.

"It's
been very cool," adds
the petite 24-year-old Bell,
who makes you believe she's
just 17. OK, an unusually
together 17. "I feel
cooler because I play Veronica.
She's like the girl you really
want to be friends with. She's
much cooler than I am. She
just knows exactly what to
say and she's very tough."

"A
lot of it's a sense of style
and a lot of it's hardening
your outside because you feel
really soft inside,"
says Bell of Veronica's fashion
profile, which one critic
amusingly described as a blend
of tomboy threads and trashy
Catholic school girl outfits,
a black leather jacket and
short skirts.

"In
all her flashbacks, Veronica's
dressed in pink and bubblegum.
Now she's covering up her
feeling vulnerable,"
explains Bell. "So she
dresses hard to sort of feel
hard and stay tough and have
thicker skin."—END
ARTICLE

Keith
Mars:
Who's your Daddy? Veronica Mars:
I hate it when you say that. "Leave
It to Beaver" or
"Pilot"

This
website is so not official. Most of
the pictures are courtesy of UPN and
I'm just not going to discuss where
I got the other ones. Warner Bros.,
UPN, Stu Segal are all entirely blameless.
Veronica Mars belongs to them. I did
write some of this, however, and that
stuff is copyright 2005. The Veronica
Mars first and second season
version of the theme song is "We
Used to be Friends" by The
Dandy Warhols.